The Gift
by White and Black Shadow
Summary: Through the ages, Faceless Men have aided the Kings of Gondor in their quest to keep their land free of slavery. But after the first Ruling Stewards of Gondor, who tried to use them for their own gain, they have operated in the shadows, waiting for the rightful King of Gondor to return and prove their worth as they are not as trusting as they once were.


Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

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 **Chapter 1**

Darkness, it was the only thing Arya saw, felt and heard after drinking from the bottle that Jaqen had given her. Even now she was losing her awareness. Everything was falling to the background, her memories, her feelings. Calmness overcame her.

"You've shown great promise, Arya Stark." a soft voice was heard.

"It doesn't matter anymore." answered an equally soft and emotionless voice of Arya Stark.

"It does, as your service to the Many-Faced God has not ended."

"What?" shocking Arya enough to show emotion, waking her up enough to feel.

"It has only just begun."

"I am Arya Stark of Winterfell." She protested, she was not no one.

"No, you are Arya Stark, servant of the Many-Faced God."

And all went dark again. She just existed, nothing more, no thoughts, no feelings, no visions.

And suddenly awareness was back. She felt her body again. She was on some kind of hard surface, someone was cleaning her. With a shift movement that person was at her mercy. She looked around. The room she was in, was the same as the room in the House of Black and White, where people were cleaned before their faces were taken to the Hall of Faces. But it was impossible, wasn't it? She had died, she could not be back in the House of Black and White, could she?

A man with white eyes and grey rope of a Faceless Man silently entered to the room. His presence was commanding, but neutral. He gave off the feeling of total calmness and stillness.

"Welcome, Arya Stark, servant of the Many-Faced God to the House of Black and White in Middle Earth." that was the same soft voice Arya had heard after taking the poison. But before she could say something, man's iris went to brown and eyes clear.

„Valar morghulis."

„Valar dohaeris." answered Arya to the greeting.

"Come." said the man, whose voice and demeanor were more similar to the Kindly Man, she had once known then the being that had welcomed her here. She let go of a person she had attacked and followed the man. She was led along the same corridors she had once lived in, perhaps in a different world, but still the same. Even the room she had been led to, was identical to the room she had been given in the House of Black and White in Bravos.

"Change and meet me in the Hall of Faces." And he was gone. Arya found clothes on her bed, the same place she had put them before leaving the Faceless Men. This was all too strange. Everything was the same yet different. Even the clothes were in the same position she had left them as if she were back in Bravos. What was happening? She was supposed to be dead, there was no reason for the Many-Faced God to bring her to the different world. Back in Bravos there had been a few texts, which said that it was possible that after a death of a faceless man, they were given a choice to continue serving the Many-Faced God in a different world, but the texts had also said it was rare and only given to the worthily. She had left the Faceless Men, she wasn't worthy, she wasn't no one.

Having changed her clothes, she set her pace to the Hall of Faces. It was a bit creepy to see the Hall of Faces with different faces than she had seen in Bravos. She felt a movement behind her and quickly turned around. But it was not a person she had been expecting.

"Jaqen" a soft whisper escaped her lips.

"A girl knows it is not a man's name, yet she continues to call him so." Answered Jaqen.

Arya found herself wishing to run and hug Jaqen. But Jaqen had also set Waif to kill her. She had to be cautious, while she still felt kindship to a man, she knew that Jaqen had many tricks up on his sleeve and his games never ended.

"Why?" asked Arya in a whisper, but it was not Jaqen who answered.

"You were taught many skills, but you have not paid your debt. " said a man who once again had white eyes.

"So, it is a punishment for leaving."

"It depends on what you make of it."

"What do I have to do?"

"You have four years to learn and train. When time is up, you will be given a quest and until your quest is fulfilled, you will be no longer welcome here."

"And what happens should I fail?"

"A gift will not be granted to you unless you earn it."

A man's eyes went brown again.

"Everything we have here is at your disposal. Valar dohaeris."

Realizing that it was dismissal, Arya left, but before she could leave the hall, she caught another sentence. "But your cloak on." Nodding, she went towards her room. Once she had closed the door of her room, the tears fell from her eyes. From shock and her family, she may never see again, even in the afterlife. She sat on the edge of her bed, hands on her lap and head down. Remembering her last moments, the moment when her home, Winterfell, fell to the hands of a Night King. There had almost been no battel. Dragons had destroyed everything, they had had no chance. She had seen how Bran had been lost to the fire of a dragon and Sansa to a White Walker, who had escaped their defenses. She had even caught a glimpse of her brother, Jon, as a White Walker. The battle had almost been over, only a few of their defenses still standing, when Jaqen had grappled her and pined her to the wall in a narrow passage, hand over her mouth.

"A girl must do as a man says, for a man has no time to explain." Jaqen let Arya go and gave her a small green bottle.

"Unless a girl wishes to become a White Walker, she must drink from the bottle." And before Arya could react to the sudden appearance of her trainer. Jaqen took another similar bottle and drunk from it, falling almost instantly to the ground. Without needing to touch his pulse, Arya knew he was dead. Hearing a movement behind her she quickly turned seeing a White Walker moving towards her. Making a quick decision, Arya opened the bottle Jaqen had given her and drunk it. Her world turning black before the White Walker could reach her.

Arya opened her eyes, which she had not noticed closing. She had fallen to her knees on a cold stone floor, tears falling from her eyes, her home was gone. Raising her eyes from her lap she realized that Jaqen had come to her room and was kneeling in front of her.

"Why did you come?" she asked and while it could have meant why he had come to her room, it was not the question and both of them knew it.

"A man did not wish such fate for a girl." Jaqen words warmed Arya's heart, even if it was irrational, for Jaqen had almost ordered her death before and was not above mind games to get what he wanted, but what did he want, that was always mystery to Arya as he was supposed to serve the Many-Faced God, but sometimes it looked like he had other, alternative motives.

Arya stood and Jaqen stood up with her. Arya went to a shelf and picked up a cloak.

"They gave me a cloak." She said holding it a bit perplexed, if you knew, how to read her, if you did not then it would have sounded like a statement.

"You finished your training before you left."

"I don't know how to put it on." Arya said and she could swear she saw Jaqen's lips tremble a bit in a fight to stay emotionless.

"A man will help a girl."

And that he did. The mantel was a piece of a cloth, and if put on correctly, it looked like a cloak. When a lesson, how to put on a cloak was over, Arya made a request to Jaqen in the same manner he always spoke to her "Will a man offer his guidance, should a girl have a need for it." Arya knew it was a risk to make that request as Jaqen's mind games were a dangerous territory to even the other Faceless Men. Arya looked into Jaqen's deep eyes, which nearly always looked dead and emotionless depths that had no end, but at that moment, she saw a bit of a warmth, far away in the depths of his eyes as he said: "A man will."


End file.
